The gun found on the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEOBrian Thompson matches shell casings found at the crime scene, New York’s police commissioner said Wednesday.
Commissioner Jessica Tisch also said lab results matched suspect Luigi Mangione ’s prints to a water bottle and protein bar wrapper found near the scene of the killing.
Little new information has come out about a possible motive, though writings found in Mangione’s possession hint at a hatred of corporate greed. He remains jailed in Pennsylvania.
Here's the latest:
More like domestic terrorism than vigilantism?
Regina Bateson, an assistant political science professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, has studied vigilantism, the term to which Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro alluded. She doesn’t see this case as a good fit for the word, she says, because the victim wasn’t linked to any specific crime or offense. As she sees it, it’s more akin to domestic terrorism.
But Bateson views the threats against election workers, prosecutors and judges ticking up — plus the assassination attempts against President-elect Donald Trump this past summer — as possible signs that personal grievances or political agendas could erupt.
“Americans are voicing more support for — or at least understanding of — political violence,” she said.
The suspect is being cast by some as a romantic figure
Little new information is available about a possible motive, though writings found in Mangione’s possession hinted at a vague hatred of corporate greed and an expression of anger toward “parasitic” health insurance companies.
That detail came after earlier clues showed some bullets recovered from the scene had the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose,” reflecting words used by insurance industry critics. A number of the posts combine an apparent disdain for health insurers – with no mention of the loss of life – with a vague attempt at what some called humor.
“He took action against private health insurance corporations is what he did. he was a brave italian martyr. in this house, luigi mangione is a hero, end of story!” one anonymous person said in a post on X that has nearly 2 million views.
Arguments over whether suspect is a ‘hero’ offer a glimpse into an unusual American moment
Is he a hero? A killer? Both?
About the same time the #FreeLuigi memes featuring the mustachioed plumber from “Super Mario Brothers” mushroomed online this week, commenters shared memes showing Tony Soprano pronouncing Luigi Mangione, the man charged with murdering the UnitedHealthcare CEO in Manhattan, a hero.
There were the posts lionizing Mangione’s physique and appearance, the ones speculating about who could play him on “Saturday Night Live,” and the ones denouncing and even threatening people at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s for spotting him and calling police.
It was all too much for Pennsylvania’s governor, a rising Democrat who was nearly the vice presidential nominee this year. Josh Shapiro decried what he saw as growing support for “vigilante justice.”
As with so many American events at this moment, the case of Brian Thompson and Luigi Mangioni has both captivated and polarized a media-saturated nation.
▶ Read more about the public perception of the case
NYPD matches shell casings in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing to gun found on suspect
The gun found on the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO matches shell casings found at the crime scene, New York’s police commissioner said Wednesday.
Commissioner Jessica Tisch also said lab results matched suspect Luigi Mangione’s prints to a water bottle and protein bar wrapper found near the scene of the killing.
Authorities believe the suspect took steps to stay off the radar after the shooting
Prosecutors said at his Pennsylvania hearing Tuesday that when arrested, Mangione had bags for his cellphone and laptop that prevent such devices from transmitting signals authorities can use to track them.
Luigi Mangione remains jailed without bail in Pennsylvania
He’s charged there with gun and forgery offenses.
Manhattan prosecutors were working to bring him to New York, where he faces a murder charge in last week’s killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Authorities have said writings found in Mangione’s possession hinted at a hatred of corporate greed.
Authorities are analyzing a fingerprint on a cellphone found in their investigation
The New York Police Department’s top detective, Joseph Kenny, told CBS New York on Tuesday that no prints were found on the bullets that killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, but there was one fingerprint on a cellphone that was recovered.
He said the evidence was being processed and he didn’t say whether it appeared to match Mangione.
Investigators find a spiral notebook the suspect described in a letter, official says
Among the items recovered by investigators was a spiral notebook, a law enforcement official said.
Luigi Nicholas Mangione described the notebook in a three-page handwritten letter police in Pennsylvania found when they arrested him, writing that it would contain clues about the attack.
“The spiral notebook, if present, has some straggling notes and To Do lists that illuminate the gist of it,” Mangione wrote, according to the official.
The law enforcement official was not authorized to disclose information about the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
— Michael R. Sisak
What did Mangione post online?
An X account linked to Mangione includes recent posts about the negative effect of smartphones on children; healthy eating and exercise habits; psychological theories; and a quote from Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti about the dangers of becoming “well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
What evidence has been gathered?
In addition to a three-page, handwritten document that suggests he harbored “ill will toward corporate America,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny has said Mangione also had a ghost gun, a type of weapon that can be assembled at home and is difficult to trace.
Officers questioned Mangione, who was acting suspiciously and carrying multiple fraudulent IDs, as well as a U.S. passport, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. Officers also found a sound suppressor, or silencer, “consistent with the weapon used in the murder,” she said.
He had clothing and a mask similar to those worn by the shooter and a fraudulent New Jersey ID matching one the suspect used to check into a New York City hostel before the shooting, the commissioner said.
Mangione struggled with back pain
Mangione had severe back pain from childhood that interfered with many aspects of his life, according to Josiah Ryan, a spokesperson for a “co-living” space in Honolulu where the suspect lived in 2022.
Mangione left Surfbreak to get surgery on the mainland, Ryan said, then later returned to Honolulu and rented an apartment. An image posted to a social media account linked to Mangione showed what appeared to be an X-ray of a metal rod and multiple screws inserted into someone’s lower spine.
Mangione was born into a life of country clubs and privilege
His grandfather was a self-made real estate developer and philanthropist.
“Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” Mangione’s family said in a statement posted on social media late Monday by his cousin, Maryland Del. Nino Mangione. “We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.”
From January to June 2022, Luigi Mangione lived at Surfbreak, a “co-living” space at the edge of touristy Waikiki in Honolulu. Josiah Ryan, a spokesperson for owner and founder R.J. Martin, said he was widely considered a “great guy,” though he had long dealt with severe back pain that interfered with many aspects of his life.
Where do things stand now?
Wearing an orange jumpsuit, Mangione mostly stared straight ahead during Tuesday's hearing in Pennsylvania, occasionally consulting papers, rocking in his chair, or looking back at the gallery. At one point, he began to speak to respond to the court discussion but was quieted by his lawyer.
Judge David Consiglio denied bail to Mangione, whose attorney, Thomas Dickey, told the court his client did not agree to extradition and wants a hearing on the matter.
Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks said that although Mangione will create “extra hoops” for law enforcement to jump through by fighting extradition, it won’t be a substantial barrier to sending him to New York.
The Associated Press
